To: Campus Principals

Cc: Campus Technology Representatives

Re: Campus Technology Representatives' Meeting on 09/10/2010

ACTION REQUIRED

Thanks to all the campuses that chose to send a representative to the first CTR meeting for the 2010-2011 school year. A variety of information was shared at the meeting. You can find a complete list of topics online at CTR Support area at http://itls.saisd.net

Any weekly memos, procedures, and/or other print documents shared at the meeting are available online for printing--along with an audio recording later this week--at:
http://bit.ly/cq4yzw

Action Items:

1) Student Active Directory and Email Accounts
2) Digital Citizenship eRate Requirement
3) TEA Mandated STaR Chart Assessment
4) CTR and GATS Contact Forum - Join!
5) Policy Review


1) STUDENT ACTIVE DIRECTORY AND EMAIL ACCOUNTS
Every K-8 student now has their own Active Directory login, just like the one staff have, so they can login to computers district-wide. Grade 9-12 students ALSO have active email accounts. Email Accounts can be activated for K-8 students once teachers have completed the required Digital Citizenship Lessons with them.

Read more about this in the weekly memo.

2) DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP eRATE REQUIREMENT
Starting last year, two new requirements were put in place: a) All professional instructional staff are required to complete self-paced, web-based training course via ePath on Digital Citizenship and CyberSafety; and b) Every campus principal must certify that they have facilitated Digital Citizenship lessons for K-12 students; the lessons are available online NOW. A weekly memo is available with updated schedules at the CTR Meeting link. Find lessons online below:

Find out more online at http://saisdcybersafety.pbworks.com/

3) TEA MANDATED STAR CHART ASSESSMENT
All teachers and campus staff must complete the School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart critical to funding. The STaR Chart is now open for completion. The Teacher STaR Chart is due October 26, 2010; the Campus STaR Chart is due November 5th.

All information is linked from the ITLS web site at http://itls.saisd.net

4) CTR AND GATS CONTACT FORUM - JOIN!
Future communications, like this email, will be sent via the CTR Forum. If you are not a member of that forum--which is easy to join, and that anyone can join--you will be unaware of information. Major announcements will still be made via weekly memo, however.

Stay up to date on GATS issues--ask questions and more--through the GATS Forum. Join both by going to http://saisdctrs.pbworks.com

5) POLICY REVIEW
SAISD campuses and departments can save SAISD staff time, effort, and precious funding if they adhere to the following administrative procedures. This is a quick review of procedures--and forms--shared at the CTR Meeting. All are online at
http://bit.ly/cq4yzw

a) Disposition of Equipment - Use this form to dispose of equipment that has fallen into obsolescence.

b) Active Directory Installer Rights Request Form - Need someone on your campus to be able to install software? The campus principal can designate that person using this form.

c) Purchasing New Software or Web-based Services - Please be aware that before you purchase new software or a web-based service, it must go through the Electronic Resources Selection Process.

d) Connecting Non-District Equipment to the Network - If you or your staff want to connect your laptop/netbook to the District network, you will want to make sure to complete this form PRIOR to connecting. Sometimes, technology brought from home is unprotected with the latest anti-malware software and vulnerable. Worse, any malware on your computer can spread through District computers over the network. Get your computer checked--including special after-school programs where a third party partner has provided a cart of laptops for use--BEFORE connecting to the District network.

e) Donated Computers - While it's tempting to receive donated equipment to augment hardware on your campus, please be sure to get it evaluated BEFORE you take ownership on behalf of the District. You don't want to get stuck with equipment that does not meet District specifications. The online form allows you to get someone from the Technology Department to help evaluate equipment for use in SAISD schools.

Thank you for taking the time to review these action items from the CTR Meeting held 09/10/2010. You can find more information discussed at the CTR Meeting online at http://bit.ly/cq4yzw

With appreciation for your time,

Miguel Guhlin
Director, Instructional Technology and Learning Services (ITLS)
http://itls.saisd.net
Email: mguhlin@saisd.net
Phone: 210-527-1400